how sweet it is (to be loved by you)
by coffeehelps
Summary: Sergeant McFancy Pants makes his return as Finn and Rachel prepare for the birth of their first child. Sequel to "hey baby, i think i wanna marry you."


**So I wasn't going to do a sequel to this, but I was struck with some sudden inspiration about Rachel being pregnant, Kurt being crazy with the over-planning, and Finn trying to keep the peace and thought that it would be a lot of fun.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This story title comes from the song "How Sweet It Is" by James Taylor.**

* * *

 **one.**

Rachel Hudson stared at the frying pan on the stove and wondered if it would be frowned upon if she hit her brother in law over the head with it.

She was only a week away from clearing the first trimester of this pregnancy, and so far she and Finn had only told their family and their close friends about the baby. Even so, Kurt seemed determined to drive her to insanity with color schemes of the baby's nursery.

Instead of whacking Kurt over the head with the frying pan, Rachel calmly flipped the veggie burger she was cooking. She looked over her shoulder at her husband, who had already started eating his cheeseburger. "How is this not bothering you?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders and popped a potato chip into his mouth. "He can talk about painting the spare bedroom all he wants, but there's no way he's actually going to do it. He doesn't own any clothes that he would dare to get dirty."

" _He_ is sitting right here, you know!" Kurt gestured to the paint samples he had spread across the table. "And besides, I would just borrow one of your ugly flannel shirts to paint in, Finn."

Finn just grinned at Kurt and shrugged his shoulders, completely unbothered by Kurt's threat. He had more than enough flannel shirts, to go around, after all. Instead, he got up and pulled Rachel away from the stove—he had seen how she had been eyeing that frying pan and then glancing at Kurt, after all.

With a kiss to the cheek, Finn guided his wife into a chair and plated her veggie burger for her, with extra pickles, just the way she liked it. Kurt was debating the pros and cons of a green color scheme versus a yellow one when Finn put the plate in front of her. He sat down next to Rachel and began eating once again as Kurt continued to babble, ignoring his own dinner in lieu of torturing them with the difference between baby blue and robin's egg blue.

"We would have a much easier time picking a color scheme if you would just find out if you're having a boy or a girl, you know," Kurt began. Rachel ignored that particular comment as she picked up her veggie burger. "We would be able to narrow down our choices—"

Rachel made a noise in the back of her throat and froze with the veggie burger halfway to her mouth. The smell from her food, combined with Kurt and Finn's burgers, quickly got to her. Rachel's stomach protested violently, and she knew she wasn't going to make it to the bathroom in time. Instead, she dove for the trashcan and threw up spectacularly.

"Rachel!" Abandoning his dinner, Finn held Rachel's hair back from her face and stroked her back comfortingly. Her morning sickness had been sporadic and had come and gone at random intervals. Rachel had considered herself lucky, since she really hadn't had it that bad. Apparently, all she had really done was jinx herself.

"I thought her morning sickness was over," Kurt grumbled over the sound of Rachel's retching. He had taken his tablet out and was now scrolling through his email, looking for confirmation from the interior designer he had hired for the baby's nursery.

"It's different for everyone, Sergeant McFancy Pants," Finn reminded his younger brother as he got a cup of water for Rachel.

Kurt spluttered at the return of his old nickname, but both Finn and Rachel ignored him. She rinsed her mouth out and spit it in the sink, and then Finn handed her a sleeve of saltines. She looked absolutely miserable, and even Kurt could spare a bit of sympathy for that.

That sympathy quickly and completely disappeared over the next week, however. The following day, when Kurt came over to discuss the invitation list for the baby shower, Rachel threw up in the middle of Kurt showing her the list of three hundred that they had to narrow down.

The day after, Rachel had Kurt on speakerphone as he talked about how he wanted to plan a pregnancy announcement photo shoot. In the middle of discussing potential photographers, Rachel threw up, and Kurt could clearly hear her.

It went on like that for the rest of the week. Whenever Kurt talked about something pregnancy related—it didn't matter if it was about the baby registry, the type of invitations they were going to send out for the shower, whether or not Finn and Rachel were going to make their own baby food once the baby could take in solids, the Lamaze classes that Kurt was insisting on attending with them, or (and this was Rachel's least favorite topic) what they were going to do for any other future Hudson babies—Rachel would get sick.

While Finn was deeply sympathetic to Rachel's sudden resurgence of morning sickness, he found it endlessly amusing that Rachel always threw up in the middle of Kurt talking. Naturally, Kurt was determined to find a solution to this problem, and, he eventually did.

Kurt started carrying saltines and toothbrush for Rachel around with him wherever he went.

* * *

 **two.**

Rachel woke up at three-thirty on Saturday morning.

She really wanted some chili cheese fries.

Rolling over in bed, she was pleased to find that she was cocooned in all of the blankets, just the way that she liked it. She sleepily pulled her arm from the mass of blankets wrapped around her body and flung it out, towards where her husband was sleeping. She was pregnant, she was tired, and she wanted her French fries—and she wanted them, like, yesterday.

Rachel gripped his shoulder, keeping her eyes closed as she gave him a shake. She was surprised when he swatted her hand away—Finn never did that. It wasn't often that she woke up in the middle of the night and wanted his attention, but when she did, it was for a good reason, and Finn always immediately woke up with her.

Frowning, Rachel shook his shoulder again, this time a little bit harder. It was only when the person next to her let out a grunt that didn't sound at all Finn-like, did Rachel realize that the shoulder she was gripping was decidedly _not_ Finn's.

Rachel's eyes snapped open, and she was greeted with the view of Kurt's perfectly coiffed head of hair.

Seriously, how was his hair perfect at three-thirty in the morning?

Feeling the hysteria rise quickly, Rachel extended her index finger and poked Kurt in the shoulder—hard. Some would say that she was dramatic (Rachel, on the other, just claimed that she was _expressive_ ), but her emotions had increased at least a hundred times over since her pregnancy. Anything could set her off, and finding Kurt asleep next to her, in her bed, instead of her husband, was about to trigger a meltdown.

"Kurt Hummel-Anderson." Rachel's voice was quiet, steady, and deadly. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?" She poked him again, and then once again when he didn't respond immediately. He made a noise in the back of his throat and rolled over at his back, pushing her hand away.

Of course, that didn't deter Rachel in the slightest. She poked Kurt again, this time so hard that his body actually shifted on the bed. She did it again, just to make sure that Kurt got the hint and actually woke up.

He did, reluctantly, of course. Blinking blearily, Kurt finally opened his eyes. "Rachel," he grumbled. "Why did you wake me up? I was sleeping, you know."

Unable to help herself, Rachel gaped at her brother-in-law. Kurt Hummel-Anderson truly was something else. Her husband was nowhere to be found, and Kurt was sleeping in her bed, and he had the gall to be annoyed? There was no way she was letting him get away with that shit.

"Sergeant McFancy Pants, why the hell are you in my bed?" Rachel repeated. Her voice got louder with each word, and Kurt winced and covered his head with a pillow. So it seemed that he wasn't willing to explain his presence, then. Not even the use of his hated nickname was enough to stir Kurt.

Rachel climbed out of bed, scowling as she left the comfort of her warm blankets. Her eyes narrowed even further when Kurt reached over and pulled them over his body. She was glaring daggers, and if looks could kill, Kurt would certainly be in the bowels of hell.

For Finn's sake, she hoped that he was nearby. If Kurt couldn't explain his presence, then perhaps Finn could. And he better have a damn good explanation, or heads were going to roll. Now, not only did Rachel want chili cheese fries, but she was out of her warm, comfortable bed, and without her husband. She was not in the best of moods, to say the least.

Rachel stomped into the living room—but not before she slammed the bedroom door shut behind her. She hoped that it woke Kurt up again, because he deserved it. Where the hell was Blaine, and why wasn't he keeping an eye on his husband?

"Finn Hudson!" Rachel shrieked, not really caring if she was waking anyone up. Hey, if her sleep had to be interrupted, than so could everyone else's. Plus, she still didn't have her chili cheese fries.

A groan came from the couch, and one of the lamps flickered on as Finn reached up and twisted the switch. He had clearly been sleeping on the couch, looking quite comfortable with two pillows under his head and wrapped in one of her favorite blankets.

Finn yawned as he stretched on the extra-long couch (that they had spent months looking for and had bought specifically because Finn wanted a couch long enough for him to lay on, that bastard). "Hey, Rach. I was wondering when you would wake up."

"You were _wondering_?" Rachel stomped her way around the couch, in front of the coffee table. With her hands planted firmly on her hips, her ire intensified one-hundred fold. Why should he get to be so comfortable and warm and well-rested, while she had to wake up with her obnoxious brother-in-law next to her in bed?

Finn looked unfazed by her anger—in fact, he thought she looked pretty adorable, standing with her hands on her hips. Her little baby bump was sticking out just barley, only visible because her tank top had ridden up. Finn spent a good portion of his evenings with his hands attached to that little bump, so he knew it particularly well by now.

"Kurt showed up at around midnight, after you had gone to bed. He said he wanted to start planning for the baby shower first thing in the morning, or something like that. I don't know, I just came out here and went to sleep on the couch, because he was pissing me off so much." Finn held out his hands apologetically and gave her a sheepish look, hoping that she would accept his explanation.

Finn loved his brother dearly, but it had been a long week at work and it was after midnight. He had just wanted to go to bed, so Finn didn't exactly feel guilty about leaving Kurt with his already sleeping wife to avoid talk of planning the baby shower.

For a second, it truly looked like Rachel was about to tear him a new one. He had been counting on her heightened hormones and the late hour to be on his side, however, and it appeared that he had gambled correctly—the angry look melted off of her face, and she scrambled onto the couch with Finn, throwing herself into his arms.

Rachel had claimed that she was finding Finn to be too adorable and sexy, lately, and Finn had no problem using it to his advantage. He refused to feel guilty about it, because between Rachel's hormones and Kurt's obsessive party planning, it was every man for himself.

Settling against Finn in all of her favorite spots, Rachel pressed her very cold nose to the hollow of Finn's throat and tucked her equally frozen feet between his calves. Wisely choosing not to comment—Finn had become used to sharing his body heat after over six years together, after all—Finn instead tucked the blankets around Rachel and slid his arms around her, smiling as she immediately dropped off to sleep once again.

The next morning, Blaine let himself into the Hudson apartment and shook his head when he found Finn and Rachel fast asleep on the couch. That could only meant that Kurt was probably somewhere that he shouldn't be, and, sure enough, Kurt was still in Finn and Rachel's bedroom with his iPad and several spreadsheets surrounding him on the bed.

Deciding that a breakfast spread would go a long way in smoothing things over, Blaine ordered some wraps to be delivered and set about making some coffee, along with some tea for Rachel. As soon as the food had been delivered and the smell permeated the apartment, Rachel and Finn woke up simultaneously.

Blaine, with a cup of steaming coffee already in hand, chuckled as he came in from the kitchen. "Have you guys been together so long that you now wake up in synch?"

Finn and Rachel sat up, and Finn scrubbed his hands over his hair, making it stand up in a million different directions. "I always wake up when I smell food," Finn stated unapologetically.

Rachel rolled off of the couch and rubbed her hands over little bump. "Finn's baby makes me wake up whenever I smell food."

"Oh, so it's _my_ baby now?" Finn's voice held a barely-disguised chuckle as he leaned over and kissed Rachel's cheek. His large hand palmed her belly, fingers stroking over the little bump. Bending down, he greeted the baby as he did every morning.

"Morning, Tot," he murmured to Rachel's stomach.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face. Given Rachel's desire for potatoes of all sorts thus far during her pregnancy (her cravings weren't limited to just chili cheese fries—she wanted sweet potatoes, hash browns, baked potatoes, tater tots, twice-baked potatoes—Rachel wanted it all), Finn had nicknamed their unborn child "the Tot."

At first, Rachel refused to even accept the name. When Puck had tried Spud instead of Tot, however, Rachel quickly realized that Finn's chosen nickname was actually very cute, and she had stopped protesting all together.

Blaine smiled and then jerked his head towards the kitchen. "Come on, you guys. I have breakfast waiting."

"Blaine Anderson-Hummel, I love you!" Rachel practically skipped over to Blaine and paused only to press a kiss to his cheek before she tore into the kitchen, her mind on one thing only: the breakfast burrito.

Once Blaine and Finn joined her and they had taken their seats at the kitchen table, Kurt had finally decided to surface. He headed into the kitchen, already dressed and ready for the day, complete with his perfect hair and his iPad.

"Blaine, it's a good thing you're here," Kurt said by way of greeting. He bent down to press a quick kiss to his husband's lips, and then he spotted the breakfast burritos on the table. "And you brought breakfast!"

He reached for the one on the right, but Rachel, quick as lightning, slapped his hand away. Kurt scowled and pulled his hand back, rubbing at the back of it even as Rachel finished her first burrito.

"Don't touch the ones with hash browns in it," Rachel snapped.

"Well excuse me," Kurt muttered under his breath. Still, even he knew that it was best not to instigate the pregnant woman _too_ much, and he took another one instead.

"I am so not happy with you right now," Rachel said as she unwrapped another burrito. "So I would tread very carefully if I were you."

Kurt sat next to Blaine and wrinkled his nose. "And here I was, trying to help you and Finn plan the perfect gender reveal party."

Now Rachel whipped towards Finn, her eyes blazing. "A gender reveal party? I thought you said it was a baby shower!"

Finn, clearly unconcerned, shrugged his shoulders and took a long drink from his cup of coffee. Rachel might not be allowed to have any, but there was no way he could survive both Rachel's hormones and Kurt's general Kurt-ness without caffeine. "Gender reveal, baby shower, whatever. Aren't they the same thing?"

Rachel rolled her eyes while Kurt gasped, clearly affronted. Blaine just took a sip of his coffee and pressed his lips together to hide his smile. He would never admit it out loud, but he found this entire situation to be highly amusing (He currently had a betting pool running between him, Carole, Burt, Santana, and Puck about who would crack first: Finn, Rachel, or Kurt. On what they would finally lose it over was another betting pool entirely).

"They are absolutely not the same thing!" Rachel and Kurt exclaimed at the same, in very different tones.

Kurt began harping on the differences between a gender reveal and a baby shower, and how they had to make sure that both parties were nothing less than the absolute _best_. Finn looked like he had tuned his brother out entirely as he jammed half a sausage patty into his mouth at once, while Rachel's face was slowly turning purple with each word Kurt spoke.

Finally, Rachel held her hands up, effectively halting Kurt's rant. To the shock of everyone in the room (besides Finn, who could only smile at his wife), Rachel said, "I don't want to find out if we're having a boy or a girl."

Kurt gaped at her. "Why the hell not?" he finally demanded.

Finn had a feeling he knew why, and he reached over to grab her hand. He laced their fingers together and lifted their joined hands to his mouth, brushing a kiss over the back of Rachel's. Rachel smiled at him and took a bite of her second breakfast burrito with her free hand.

"Because I want it to be a surprise," Rachel said.

* * *

 **three.**

The feud between Rachel and Kurt over finding out the gender of the Tot lasted for three whole days before Kurt finally caved and started making plans for the baby shower. He still campaigned to have a gender reveal party, and told Rachel at least four times a day that he had a baker and one of those confetti cannon guys on speed dial, should she choose to change her mind.

Rachel sniped at him that she thought he would have come up with something more creative and original—not that she meant it. She had just wanted to get a rise out of Kurt, and of course had succeeded in doing so. Kurt had immediately begun planning, and had concerned Finn and Blaine with talks of a fireworks show that would display either pink or blue sparks.

Rachel still held firm and told Kurt that she wanted to keep it a surprise, and that above all else, she wanted the baby to be healthy and happy and that it didn't matter if they had a boy or a girl. Finn felt the same way and backed Rachel up 100%—mostly because it was his job to keep Rachel as happy and stress-free during this pregnancy as possible, but also because Finn knew that it would piss Kurt off.

Two weeks after Kurt had invaded their apartment with his plans for a gender reveal party/baby shower, Finn knew that the shit well and truly had hit the fan. He was already on his second beer, because there was no way in hell that he was going to get through this night without alcohol.

Rachel stormed into their apartment right on time, and Finn finished his second beer in three gulps as she slammed the door behind her and stomped into the kitchen. He reached into the fridge for another one as Rachel whipped her jacket off and threw it on the floor of the kitchen.

Finn hid his smile behind the beer bottle. Despite all of the crazy hormones and insane party planning, it was nice to know that Rachel's dramatics wouldn't change. He wouldn't dare admit that he found it entirely too adorable, either.

"Did you hear what your brother did today?" Rachel shrieked.

Before Finn could answer, the door to their apartment opened once again and Kurt arrived right on cue. "What could you possibly need right now, Finn Hudson?" Kurt demanded. "I was in the middle of creating the menu for your baby shower, and—"

Of course, Rachel had heard Kurt's voice and had run into the living room the second she heard it. Kurt had stopped talking the moment he saw his sister-in-law and tried to make a run for it out the front door, but Finn was there to plant his hand on the door and stop him.

"Kurt Hummel-Anderson, what the hell is your problem?" Rachel's voice hadn't gotten any less shrill, and her face was so red that both Kurt and Finn thought that steam would start escaping from her ears at any moment.

Kurt was desperate, and he looked to his older brother for help, but Finn held his hands up and said nothing. Kurt had dug himself into this hole, and he could get himself out of it. Finn was just going to sit back, watch, and make sure that there wasn't any bloodshed.

So Kurt had decided to go with denial. He lifted his chin and looked Rachel right in the eye. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rachel stared at him with her brow furrowed and her lips pursed. Kurt managed to hold her gaze for only a second before he glanced away, and Rachel knew that she had him.

She poked him in the chest, hard. "You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Okay, Rachel," Kurt began as he slowly began to back away from Rachel. "It's really not that big of a deal—"

"Not. That. Big. Of. A. _Deal?!_ " Rachel's voice got louder and louder with each word. "You called my doctor's office and tried to impersonate me to find out what the gender of my baby is!"

Finn tried his very hardest to hide his laughter, because he didn't want his pregnant wife and his younger brother to get mad at him. This was too funny not to laugh at, however, and Finn was convinced that everyone could relax if they just laughed a little more.

"I just… Rachel, I just want to know!" Kurt exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. "How can you stand not knowing? I would think that you, of all people, would want to know!"

"That's just it!" Rachel poked Kurt in the chest once again. "I have to know everything in my life at all times, down the last detail. This just… I just wanted this one thing to be a surprise. This baby is a blessing, and nothing else matters besides the baby being healthy."

Kurt's face softened, because as much as he wanted to know, Rachel was right. And he had to respect her wishes, because Rachel was busy growing a human inside of her, and she needed all of the support that she could get. So Kurt touched her shoulder and then pulled her into a hug, and Rachel finally relaxed.

Kurt might be insane, but he knew when to give in. It was true that he wasn't this erratic during the planning of their wedding, but he had known for years that Rachel was going to be his sister. Now he was getting a new niece or nephew, and it was at least understandable that he would go a little bit overboard. Everyone was excited for this baby, after all.

Of course, Kurt had to take it one step further by looking over Rachel's shoulder and saying to Finn, "Are you absolutely sure you're okay with not knowing?"

Finn rolled his eyes, because he had already told Kurt a thousand times that he wanted what Rachel wanted, and would be okay no matter what.

Still while hugging her brother-in-law, Rachel hit his shoulder. "Kurt!"

* * *

 **four.**

"Kurt Hummel-Anderson! I can't believe you!"

Whipping around to glare at his brother, Kurt threw his balled-up napkin at him even as his mother continued to yell at him. "You told on me to Mom? I can't believe you!"

Finn easily dodged the napkin and took another bite of the tater tot casserole (Carole was all about cooking whatever Rachel was craving for their weekly family dinners). It wasn't his idea to rat Kurt out, but he certainly wasn't about to throw Rachel under the bus. She had known exactly what she was doing when she had casually mentioned to Carole how Kurt had tried to impersonate her to find out what the gender of the baby was. It was the perfect way to exact revenge on Kurt, and Rachel knew it.

Of course, Rachel had no problem revealing she was the culprit. She smirked as she pulled a tater tot off of the casserole. "I told her, Kurt," she said easily.

"As she should have!" Carole exclaimed. She hit Kurt over the head with her dishtowel. Deciding to take the easy way out, Kurt only scowled but didn't protest. He even refrained from glaring at Rachel; instead, he saved that for his husband and his father.

"Why didn't the two of you give me a heads up?" Kurt demanded.

Burt held his hands up. "Happy wife, happy life."

Given that Kurt couldn't argue with his father, he turned his attention to his husband instead. "What, and that idea doesn't work for you?" he asked Blaine.

Of course, Blaine could only laugh. "I told you that this whole thing was a bad idea... Sergeant McFancy Pants."

Rachel looked like she wanted to throw a tater tot at Blaine, but she reconsidered and ate it instead. "You knew about his plan the whole time? Blaine Anderson-Hummel! I thought we were friends!"

Kurt smiled triumphantly at having the tables turned on Blaine, and drank deeply from his wine glass. At least, he was triumphant until Blaine said, "You should have seen what his original plan was. He was going to dress up like you—fake baby bump and all—and try to get the results that way."

There was a long moment of silence where everyone gaped at Kurt in surprise. Kurt, for his part, drained his wine glass and then reached for the bottle, because he knew what was coming next.

Carole and Rachel started yelling at the same time, complete with erratic hand gestures. Blaine and Burt dissolved into laughter and attempted to smuggle it, while Finn laughed out-right at his younger brother.

Kurt drank directly from the wine bottle and took another large slice of tater tot casserole. He would never admit it out loud, but he secretly loved the casserole.

* * *

 **five.**

Two days after the weekly Hudson-Hummel dinner, Rachel crawled into bed next to a nearly-asleep Finn. He flopped his arm out beside him, helping Rachel settle into her customary spot against his side. The hard, little rounded mound of her belly pressed against him, and he smiled.

They laid their quietly for a few moments, and then he heard Rachel whisper, "Are you really okay with this?"

Tightening his arms around her, Finn asked around a yawn, "Okay with what?"

"About not knowing if we're having a boy or a girl."

Finn forced his eyes open and rolled onto his side. He knew that this was a serious question, and not just because Rachel was whispering. He looked into her open, earnest eyes, and then he leaned forward to press a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Of course I am," he murmured.

"But…" Rachel shifted on the bed and stared at Finn's chin, instead of into his eyes. "I never even asked you if you wanted to know. I just assumed, and I decided for both of us instead of checking to see what your thoughts on it were…"

Trailing off, Rachel took a deep, shuddering breath as tears formed in her eyes. She blinked them away, because she knew that there was absolutely no reason that she should be upset. Finn had been supportive this entire pregnancy, going above and beyond even though she was only five months in.

"If you want to know, we can find out," Rachel added. While what she had explained to Kurt remained true, this whole ordeal was now mostly about Rachel wanting to keep the gender of their baby a surprise purely so Kurt couldn't have the satisfaction of knowing. Was it petty? Yes. Still, this was her pregnancy, and her and Finn's baby, and she refused to let other people's opinions ruin it for her.

"Rach." Finn chuckled and reached up to cup her face with one hand, while the other molded over her tummy. "Don't you think if I wanted to know, I would have said something by now?"

"Between me and Kurt, god only knows that you haven't been able to get a word in edgewise."

Finn wisely chose not to laugh at that very true statement, but he couldn't help but show a little bit of amusement. "Babe, I've been around the two of you for years now. I think I know how to hold my own between you and Kurt. And anyway…" He leaned down to brush his nose against Rachel's. "I'm with you. As long as this baby is happy and healthy, nothing else matters."

Rachel's heart swelled with love at her husband's words. She took his face in both of her hands and kissed him hard before she climbed over top of him, straddling his lap. "You, Finn Hudson, are about to get very lucky."

Finn grinned and slid his hands up her side, stopping to palm her belly before they went further up. "Besides," he added as he quickly stripped Rachel's nightgown off of her. "Whether or not this baby is a boy or girl, I can still teach him or her how to play football."

For some reason, that statement turned Rachel on even more. And she had a lot of fun showing Finn just how much.

* * *

 **six.**

Sunday was one of the best days, in Rachel's opinion. It always started off slow, with a late wake up and a nice breakfast spread, courtesy of her husband. They'd lounge around until a football game started, whether it was from Finn's alma matter (he had attended the Ohio State and was a Buckeye through and through) or the Jets, and they would spend the day with their friends and family over, eating game-day food and cheering on their team.

On this particular Sunday, the Buckeyes were playing and Rachel was all set to go. She was lounging on the couch in a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved Buckeyes shirt that she had appropriated from the Hudson-Hummel home several years ago. It was one of the shirts that comfortably fit over her ever-disappearing waistline—not that Rachel minded.

Admittedly, Rachel had never been very much into sports. Both of her fathers had been incredibly invested in her music career, and had been with her as her interests changed from staring on Broadway to producing music of her own. Her papa had always been into sports of any kind, but he had given up on teaching Rachel about anything sports-related, even though she had gone to NYU. Once Rachel had joined the Hudson-Hummel family, however, she quickly realized that she was going to have to learn about football.

Sundays were taken very seriously at the Hudmel abode. Everyone wore their team shirts, and Carole always made everyone's favorite game-day food. Once Rachel started attending Sundays with the Hudson-Hummel family, Carole even made her vegetarian chili, and along with Finn, began to teach Rachel about the finer points of the game.

Rachel had decided that learning about football would be her new project, and she had tackled it with the same Rachel Berry enthusiasm as she had done with everything else in her life. Pretty soon, she had joined Finn and Burt on the couch, yelling at the refs and cheering as their teams scored touchdowns.

Now Finn and Rachel shared the responsibility with Carole and Burt, so that they weren't the ones always hosting football Sundays. Rachel normally did the cooking, but Finn was insisting that she stay off of her feet, so he had directed her to the couch and told her that he would take care of it all. Rachel thought it was incredibly sweet, but that didn't stop her from checking on Finn every ten minutes.

Glancing at her phone, Rachel saw that she still had three more minutes before she ventured into the kitchen once again to see how Finn was progressing with the buffalo chicken dip and the honey barbeque chicken wings. She shifted on the couch, putting one hand on her rounded belly and smiling as she felt the familiar fluttering.

Rachel had first felt the baby move two weeks ago, but Finn still hadn't felt it yet. The movements were so small that only Rachel could feel them at the moment, but that hadn't stopped Finn from being attached to her stomach every free moment he had.

Just when Rachel was about to stand up, she felt a sharp jab in her abdomen. Inhaling sharply, Rachel froze with both hands on her belly. She waited, unsure if she was just having a muscle cramp of some sort, or if she had really felt what she thought she felt. Once again, she felt the movement, and a bright smile broke out over her face.

"Finn!" Rachel yelled, bouncing excitedly on the couch. "Quick! Come in here!"

"What? What is it!" Finn came tearing into the living room, seemingly unaware of the fact that he was wearing Rachel's apron over his football jersey and holding a spoon dripping with barbeque sauce. Rachel wasn't even mad about the sauce dripping on her hardwood floors, she was so excited. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Rachel assured him. "The baby just kicked!"

"WHAT?" Finn threw the spoon in the direction of the kitchen and dove towards the couch. He attached his hands to her stomach and held his breath as he waited.

A full five minutes passed, but it finally happened. The baby kicked, pressing a little foot or hand against the hand Finn had cradling Rachel's stomach. He grinned, absolutely thrilled to share this moment with Rachel.

Another ten minutes went by, and Finn and Rachel felt the baby kick two more times. Rachel smiled and kissed Finn sweetly before she patted his cheek. "Finn, I love you, and all, but can you clean up the barbeque sauce you got all over my floor?"

* * *

 **seven.**

Swiveling in her chair, Rachel impatiently tapped her fingers on the desk. She had a contract that she could be looking over for a new band that she had signed, but her thoughts were on something much more important in that moment.

Exactly two minutes after she was supposed to arrive, Santana Lopez came bustling into her office. Rachel jumped out of her chair, and, instead of greeting her best friend, reached for the bag she had clutched in her hands.

"It's about time!" Rachel exclaimed as she pulled a hash brown from the bag. She took a large bite from it and her shoulders relaxed; she had been thinking about those hash browns since she woke up that morning, and Santana, good best friend that she was, had gone out to fetch her some.

"Well hello you to you, too," Santana grumbled as she tossed her purse and jacket onto the empty chair on the other side of Rachel's desk. Her face softened immediately, her voice taking on an almost sweet quality as she directed her gaze to the little bump sticking out from Rachel's body. "And how is the little Tot doing today?"

Rachel, now on to her second hash brown, smiled around the baked potato goodness. Santana could bitch all she wanted to, but there was something about this baby that made her turn into a complete and total sap. It was kind of cute, actually—not that Rachel would ever say that out loud to her best friend.

(Rachel and Finn had already decided to name Santana as the godmother of their unborn child. Rachel couldn't wait to see Santana cry when they finally told her. Finn kept threatening to record it, just because he was sure that no one would believe them.)

"The Tot is really happy that you brought me hash browns," Rachel said once she finished her second one. She reached for the water bottle on her desk and took several gulps from it—honestly, the only thing that was pissing her off about this whole being pregnant thing was the inability to consume caffeine—and reached over her desk to pat Santana's hand. "You're the greatest best friend ever."

Santana still had that soft look on her face, despite rolling her eyes. "You're just saying that to suck up to me." Still, from another bag she pulled a breakfast burrito, complete with a hash brown—Rachel's lunch. After handing it to Rachel, she pulled out a sausage patty tucked between a biscuit and some egg. One upside about Rachel's weirdly intense potato cravings was the ability to eat breakfast foods at all times of the day.

Accepting the breakfast burrito from Santana, Rachel leaned back in her chair and rested one hand on her belly while she ate.

She dearly loved her best friend, but she was not above using her to satisfy her cravings for breakfast burritos stuffed with hash browns.

* * *

 **eight.**

Staring wide-eyed at the six binders, three poster boards, and laptop with a power point spread out in front of them, Quinn shook her head. "I'm never getting pregnant."

Luckily, Rachel was in a rather good mood (it helped that Finn was currently out picking up sweet potato French fries for her. Rachel's potato cravings had recently expanded to include sweet potatoes, as well). "It's not that bad," she said. She pointed to a three inch, pastel yellow binder. "That one has a list of all sorts of clothes for the Tot. I can't really be mad about that."

Quinn's eyebrows shot up as she reached for the binder. "You mean to tell me that Kurt already has outfits planned for the baby?" She shared a look with Santana as she began to flip through the binder; Kurt had picked out outfits for a girl, a boy, and had some gender neutral outfits as well. If Rachel was in a good mood, they certainly weren't going to point out just how over-the-top Kurt's obsessive planning was.

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, but it's not as bad as the meal-planning binder he has."

Quinn blinked. "No, seriously. If I do get pregnant, I want Kurt to be very far away. Like, on the other side of the planet."

Santana picked up another binder—this one was pastel green—labeled _Sleeping Tips for Infants_. It came complete with all sorts of information and customer reviews on the best cribs and bassinettes, as well as apps used to track the sleeping patterns of the baby. "Has he ever thought about starting a business? Because he could make a shit ton of money as a lifestyle planner or whatever."

Rachel snatched the binder away from Santana and put it aside. While it was true that Kurt was going one thousand percent overboard, she did have to admit that it took a lot of the work out of it for her and Finn—they didn't need to research the best products for their baby, because Kurt was already doing it for them.

"Don't give him any ideas," Rachel said instead of admitting that all out loud. "He's got a big enough head as it is."

Kurt came bustling into the living room then, followed by Finn and Puck. Finn bent down and greeted Rachel with a quick kiss to the lips before he handed over the sweet potato fries. Rachel squealed in delight and managed to spare a second to kiss Finn again before she tore into the fries.

Puck, meanwhile, was carrying several bags with wraps and sandwiches for everyone else. Rachel needed to satisfy her potato cravings, yes, but the rest of them needed to eat as well. Kurt accepted his chicken Caesar salad wrap from Puck and began to eat it even as he began to explain what the poster boards were for.

"I've been planning the baby shower ever since Rachel announced that she was pregnant," Kurt explained around a mouthful of chicken and lettuce. "I can't decide between a nautical theme, a safari theme, or a wild west theme."

Puck paused in the unwrapping of his Cuban sandwich. "What the hell is wrong with you, Sergeant McFancy Pants?" he demanded.

"Of course," Kurt continued as if he hadn't heard Puck, but his face did turn purple at the mention of his nickname. "It would be much easier to plan a theme for the baby shower if Finn and Rachel would just find out if they were having a boy or a girl—" At Rachel and Finn's matching glare, Kurt turned back to his poster boards. At least they never argued with him, and they always did what he wanted. "But I know that it's Finn and Rachel's choice, and this baby is a blessing," he finished in a monotone.

Rachel smiled smugly. After Kurt had tried to impersonate her to find out the gender of Baby Hudson a month ago, and Carole had found out about it, Carole had spent the better part of a weekend drilling that exact response into Kurt's head. Kurt might not be happy about it, but as long as he said it, Rachel was happy.

"I'm going to ask this again, because you won't answer me," Finn said for what felt like the hundredth time. "But do I get to wear a captain's hat if we pick the nautical theme for the baby shower?"

As he had since Finn had first asked that question, Kurt ignored him. Rachel, as she always had, giggled. The thought of Finn dressed up as a sailor excited her more than she cared to admit (somewhere in the back of her mind, Rachel knew that Finn wouldn't actually be dressed as a sailor—he'd just be wearing a captain's hat. Still, that didn't stop her from imagining, and she was more than willing to claim pregnancy brain). Rachel was campaigning hard for the nautical theme, just because she wanted to see Finn in the captain's hat.

Quinn pinched Puck sharply between her pointer finger and thumb, just in case he was getting any ideas about her getting pregnant any time in the near future. "I'm going to be having nightmares about this for a long time."

* * *

 **nine.**

Rachel balanced the pregnancy book on her rounded belly and flipped the page. Rachel had taken the day off for an early doctor's appointment, and Finn had gone to work after he had gone to the appointment with her. Given that she was seven months pregnant, Finn hadn't exactly wanted to leave her alone for the entire day. Rachel had maintained that she was pregnant, not invalid, but had eventually humored Finn and allowed him to get her to babysit her for the day.

Unfortunately, the only person available was Kurt. Now Rachel was doubly annoyed, since she didn't need a babysitter, and she definitely didn't need that babysitter to be Kurt. Still, Kurt had largely kept to himself, as he was busy planning the baby shower (in the end, Rachel had gotten her way and they were going to have a nautical theme for the shower. She did have to talk Kurt out of having the baby shower at an aquarium, instead insisting that the Hudmel house would be perfectly alright).

Kurt came into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Rachel. He was holding a pink pastel colored binder, and Rachel knew that that was the binder that held ideas for her maternity and post-baby wardrobe. While she enjoyed talking about clothes as much as the next girl, she was just not in the mood at the moment. She ignored him as she flipped another page in her book, hoping that he would just get the hint and go away.

Rachel should have known better. There was nothing short of the apocalypse that would deter Kurt Hummel-Anderson, and even then, Rachel didn't think that would stop him. He just sat there next to her on the couch, loudly flipping through the pages of his binder and scribbling notes on the pages he did stop on. Rachel had no idea that the scratching of a pen against paper could be so irritating, and she only managed to last another thirty seconds before she tossed her book aside and snatched the pen from Kurt.

"Alright, what the hell do you want?" she demanded.

Kurt seemed unperturbed by Rachel's snappish attitude, or the way she had grabbed the pen from him. He flipped to another page in his color-coded binder, and it was labeled "going home ensembles." Rachel groaned and pushed the binder away, but Kurt managed to catch it before it slid off of his lap.

"Come on Kurt, who do you think I am, Kate Middleton? I don't need an outfit planned for when I leave the hospital!"

"Yes you do!" Kurt exclaimed. He pointed to a purple dress that was actually really pretty, but Rachel refused to admit that she liked it out of sheer principle. "We're going to be taking photos when you and Finn and the baby leave the hospital!"

"Kurt, if you think I'm going to want you to take pictures after giving birth, you're absolutely insane."

"I'm telling you, photo shoots of new mothers leaving the hospital will be the next big thing!"

Rachel groaned and covered her face with one hand while she rested the other one on her belly. The baby must have known that she was getting agitated, since the little Tot was now kicking up a storm.

"Let's just agree to disagree, then," Rachel muttered. Sometimes it was just easier not to press an argument with Kurt.

There was a long moment of silence, and Rachel peeked between her fingers. Had Kurt finally given in? Was he going to let this one go? There was no way she could be that lucky.

Instead of sitting quietly, Kurt was instead staring intently at Rachel's chest. Rachel gasped and crossed her arms over her chest and scooted away from him on the couch. "KURT!"

Kurt just tilted his head instead of looking away. "Rachel, are you going to be breastfeeding?"

Rachel blinked at Kurt, trying to decide if he was annoying her on purpose or if he was actually crazy. "Kurt, I'm going to strangle you."

Kurt went on as if Rachel had actually given her an answer instead of threatening him. "Because I need to know if I'm going to have to add nursing bras to your wardrobe."

Rachel was absolutely positive that she was going to have an aneurism, which wouldn't be good for her or the baby. Instead, when she felt the Tot kick again, she grabbed Kurt's hand and pressed it to her stomach. Hoping that it would be a good enough distraction, she exclaimed, "Look, Kurt! The baby is kicking!"

* * *

 **ten.**

Despite all the drama, tears, and near-bloodshed that had happened leading up to the baby shower, everything went off without a hitch. Rachel wore a blue dress and Finn even wore the captain's hat, despite it not being a part of his Kurt-approved outfit. Puck had grudgingly handed over twenty bucks when Finn had managed to sneak the hat in right under Kurt's nose.

Rachel was happily tucking into her baked potato as Finn surveyed the gifts surrounding them. They had incredibly generous friends and family, and they gotten just about everything that they had put on their registry.

"Where are we even going to put all of this stuff?" Finn wondered out loud.

Leroy clapped Finn on the back. "See, this is what the grandparents are for. We get to have the extra stuff so you have things for the baby when you come visit us!"

In that moment, Finn had no doubt that it had been Hiram and Leroy who had purchased at least seventy percent of the big ticket items on their registry for that exact purpose. He chuckled and patted Leroy on the shoulder in thanks while Rachel just laughed and shook her head.

Kurt, still wearing the headset he had donned at five o'clock in the morning, bustled over to the expecting parents and clapped his hands together. "Come on, let's go!" He reached for the plate Rachel was holding and then yelped when she tried to stab his hand with her fork.

"Kurt, if you take my baked potato away from me, I will cut off your hands," Rachel threatened with a completely straight face.

Thrusting an accusing finger in Rachel's direction, Kurt backed up a safe distance. "Finn, your wife is insane! Do something about her!"

Finn held his hands up and shared an amused look with Leroy. "Never come between a pregnant woman and her potatoes."

Kurt mumbled under his breath before he told them, "Let me know when you're done. There's something that we want to show you."

Half an hour later, Finn and Rachel were back at their apartment and were a little bit surprised to find Blaine, Puck, Quinn, and Santana waiting for them. Finn followed Rachel into the apartment, suppressing a smile. Nearing her eighth month of pregnancy, Rachel had developed quite the waddle, and Finn found it to be entirely adorable—not that he would ever call it a waddle in front of her.

"What's going on, you guys?" Rachel asked.

Finn had some idea what was going on, since Puck had asked him what times both he and Rachel were going to be out of the apartment a few weeks ago. Finn put his hands on his wife's shoulders and guided her down the hallway, following their friends. They stopped in front of the spare bedroom, and there was as little sign on the door that said, "Welcome, Baby Hudson!"

"You guys…" Rachel said again, but this time her voice sounded clogged with tears.

Kurt grinned and twisted the knob, pushing the door open. He stepped aside, allowing Finn and Rachel to enter first. Puck, Quinn, Blaine, and Santana gathered behind Kurt, and they all stood in the doorway, watching as Finn and Rachel took in what was once their spare bedroom.

The walls had been painted sunshine yellow, and there was a blue border circling the wall with stars and moons on it. The crib, rocking chair, changing table, and little dresser were all white, and there was a stuffed teddy bear wearing a letterman jacket identical to the one Finn had while growing up. Little baby clothes were already folded in the dresser drawer and hanging up in the closet, and that didn't include the clothing they got at the baby shower. A pile of burping cloths and baby blankets embroidered by Carole sat in a neat stack on the changing table, and Rachel crossed the nursery and touched the blanket on top of the pile. That one had stars embroidered all along the edge and an H in the bottom left hand corner.

"You guys… you did all of this?" Rachel whispered.

"It took us about a month to put together," Quinn told them.

"What, you hadn't noticed that Finn was keeping you out of the nursery?" While Finn hadn't seen the finished product, he had obviously known what they were doing in what was once their spare bedroom.

Rachel gave them a sheepish smile and then rested both of her hands on her rounded stomach. She felt the baby thump against her hand, and she smiled. "Honestly, Kurt was keeping me so busy with plans for the baby shower, I really hadn't given this room much thought."

Kurt managed a grin and a smug look at the same time. He knew that he had been over the top since Rachel and Finn had announced they were expecting a baby, but he had been especially annoying over the past month so that Rachel didn't ask questions about the spare bedroom. It had given Blaine, Santana, Puck, and Quinn time to completely set up the nursery without Rachel knowing. Along with the help of pregnancy brain, Kurt knew that he had done his job well.

Kurt suddenly found himself engulfed in a hug on either side by his older brother and his pregnant sister-in-law. He only pretended to be annoyed for a few seconds before he managed to wrap his arms around them both as well.

The rest of their friends allowed their embrace to go on for a few moments before they joined in as well. First Santana and Quinn, and then Puck and Blaine. They stood in the middle of the nursery, all wrapped in one giant hug, until Rachel asked, "…Does anyone think they can get me some tater tots?"

* * *

 **eleven.**

Later that night, with enough tater tots to feed a small army, the seven friends lounged in the living room at Finn and Rachel's apartment. Rachel was propped up against Finn on the couch, Blaine and Kurt were sharing the arm chair, and Puck, Quinn, and Santana were all spread out on the floor. They had ordered Chinese food as well, and they all tried their best not to show their disgust at how Rachel had dumped her tater tots in her veggie lo mein.

"So," Santana began as she picked up an eggroll with her chopsticks. "I know you guys are waiting to see if the Tot is a boy or a girl, but have you at least picked out a few names yet?"

"Um…" Finn and Rachel shared a look. There were a few names that had come up more often in their baby name discussions than others, but the truth was that they hadn't really settled on anything just yet. Finn and Rachel were beginning to think that they just needed to meet the little guy or girl before they made a decision.

"Can I suggest Kurt Jr.?" Kurt immediately said.

"What about Sergeant McFancy Pants Jr.?" Quinn said under her breath with a snicker.

That made Finn laugh outright, while everyone laughed at Quinn's comment. "Kurt, you know we love you, but we're not going to name our baby Kurt Jr."

Kurt shrugged his shoulders. "It was worth a try."

"What about Santana Jr.?" Santana yelled.

"Santana Jr.?" Rachel repeated. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" Santana looked entirely unapologetic. "Santana Jr. is a great name for a boy or a girl."

"A boy or a girl? Really?"

"Hey, it would be a unique name for a boy or a girl."

"Yeah, I'm going to go with a hard no on Santana Jr., too," Finn added.

"You're not going to name the baby something weird, are you?" Puck asked. "Like potato?"

Rachel glared at her older brother. "Why in the hell would I name my kid potato? That's a stupid name!"

"That's what I'm saying!" Puck exclaimed. "Plus, you seem to be pretty obsessed with potatoes, so you never know!"

In order to stop Rachel from internally combusting, Finn put his hands on her shoulders and massaged gently. "We haven't picked a name just yet, for a boy or a girl. We're waiting."

"You've got, like, a month left," Quinn pointed out. "Do you have any idea what you'd like to name the baby?"

"Yeah, some," Rachel said. "But we're not about to tell you guys."

"Why not?" Kurt demanded. "We're this baby's aunts and uncles!" It was like them deciding not to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl all over again. They were going to drive him insane with all of this not-knowing-until-they-met-the-baby stuff.

Finn snorted. "Yeah, well if you guys are going to be making suggestions like Santana Jr. and potato, I think we're going to pass on taking your opinions."

* * *

 **twelve.**

Shuffling forward, Rachel poured herself a bowl of fruit loops and sighed into the bowl. She really wanted some eggs and home fries, but she just didn't have the energy to make it, and she didn't want to wake up Finn. She had kept him up for hours the night before, having been overcome with hormones and had suddenly desperately wanted Finn.

Finn, of course, had been infinitely tender and wonderful with her, despite the fact that she was at the end of her pregnancy and often felt like a stranger in her own body. He made her feel beautiful and loved, which had been exactly what she needed last night.

Still, she wanted to give him the morning to sleep in. Rachel didn't really even have the energy to get milk for her cereal, let alone a spoon. She eased herself into a chair at the kitchen table and tried to ignore the aching in her back. It seemed like her whole body was sore as she neared the end of her pregnancy. If it wasn't her back, it was her feet, or her shoulders, or her neck, or her calves. Rachel hadn't minded being pregnant, but she was more than ready for the baby to get here now that she had neared the end.

Rachel slowly at the fruit loops with her fingers and sipped at a glass of water. She was halfway through her bowl of cereal when Finn came into the kitchen, wearing only a pair of boxers. He bent to press a kiss to Rachel's lips before he shuffled over to the fridge.

"Babe, I would have made you breakfast if you woke me up," Finn said. He pulled out the milk and drank directly from the carton. Rachel was so tired, she didn't even bother to protest. Finn, knowing that she hated when he did that, set the carton aside and peered at her. "Rach? Are you okay?"

Giving her husband a small smile, Rachel shifted in the chair. "I'm just tired. And my back hurts."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Finn crossed the kitchen and sat next to Rachel, stroking his hand over her back soothingly. "Where does it hurt?"

Rachel pointed to a spot on her lower back. "Right there. It comes and goes, though. It has been all morning."

Finn stared at the area she pointed to, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, he inhaled sharply. "Rachel… do you think you're in labor?" Finn had spent the past nine months pouring over the pregnancy books. He had wanted to know as much as possible given his unfamiliarity with the subject, and he remembered what several of the chapters had said about the early signs of labor.

"I… what?" Rachel stared at Finn. "How could I possibly be in labor? I…" She trailed off and tried to remember when she first felt the pain, and then did a few quick calculations. "Holy shit. I think I'm in labor."

Finn stared at Rachel for a long moment before he suddenly burst into action. "You're in labor!" he yelled as he jumped up. His hand accidentally caught Rachel's half-finished bowl of fruit loops, sending them scattering across the kitchen floor. He ignored it as he pressed a quick kiss to Rachel's forehead. "Stay here. I'm gonna go get our stuff, and then we're going to go to the hospital!"

Despite the persistent ache in her back, Rachel couldn't help but smile at her husband's antics. She laughed outright when Finn came running back into the kitchen with her bag slung over his shoulder while simultaneously trying to put on a pair of shoes and pull his sweatpants over his head in lieu of a shirt.

"Finn," Rachel managed between peals of laughter. "You have to slow down. I'm sure we have plenty of ti—ME!" Rachel's first contraction hit in the middle of her sentence, and that seemed to get through to Finn. He managed to right his sweatpants and pull a hoodie over his head before he knelt in front of Rachel.

"How you doing, Rach?" he asked as he brushed her hair back from her face.

"Not too bad, for the time being." Rachel reached up and covered Finn's hands with her own. "Finn, we get to meet our baby soon."

Finn kissed Rachel again, and then helped her stand up. "Yeah, we do. I love you, you know."

Rachel beamed. "I love you, too."

* * *

 **thirteen.**

"Soon" turned out to be a very relative term.

They were ten hours into what Rachel had insisted on being a drug-free labor. Finn, Carole, and Hiram had been in the room with her the entire time, while Kurt, Burt, Leroy, Blaine, and Puck had waited in the hospital waiting room. Santana and Quinn had taken turns getting food and coffee for everyone, and now they were settled in for a long wait.

Hiram had gone to the bathroom, and Carole had gone to inform everyone else that it looked like it was going to be another seven hours. While the room was fairly empty, Finn had settled into the chair by the side of Rachel's bed.

She was currently in between contractions and only at about five centimeters. Rachel had a cup of ice chips in one hand and was currently looking for something—anything—to distract her. She was even about to have Finn call Kurt into the room so that he could go through the details in all of his pastel-colored binders.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Rachel reached out towards her husband to get his attention. "Finn, can you—" She stopped speaking abruptly when she realized that Finn was fast asleep. Making a noise in the back of her throat, she launched the cup of ice chips at her husband.

"Finn Hudson! You better wake up right this instance, or I swear to god it will not be pretty!"

Finn had jerked awake as soon as Rachel had thrown the ice chips at him. He leaned over the bed and took her hand, giving her an apologetic smile as he stroked her hair back from her face. "I'm sorry, baby," he murmured before he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Rachel glared at him. "If I don't get to sleep, neither do you."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Finn repeated. "I love you. What can I do to make it up to you?"

Rachel glared at him for another long moment before her face finally relaxed. "Go get your brother. Tell him to bring his stupid binders."

"Great," Finn mumbled under his breath as he stood up. "He's just going to love this."

Five minutes later, Kurt was causing quite the scene as he gathered up at least fifteen different pastel-colored binders and yelled, "I knew she'd like the binders one day!"

* * *

 **fourteen.**

After seventeen long, hard, tiring hours, Jonathan Kurt Hudson came into the world.

Finn and Rachel both liked the name Jonathan. There was just something about his perfect little face—the furrow they could already see in his brows, the dark, dark blue eyes that they were certain were going to turn brown, the way the corners of his little lips were already turned up, making it easy to imagine mischievous smiles when he was older—that made it easy for Finn and Rachel to see the little guy as Jonathan. It was the nickname that Finn had suggested, however, that really cinched the deal for Rachel.

"Let's call him Jack," Finn suggested as he stroked his fingers over his little brow.

"Jack," Rachel repeated. She kissed the baby's forehead, and then smiled up at Finn. "It's perfect."

They had about twenty minutes with their newborn son before Puck poked his head into the room. "Hey, are you guys ready for visitors? I'm having trouble keeping these bozos out."

"I heard that, Puckerman!" they heard Kurt yell from behind the door.

"Can it, Sergeant McFancy Pants!" Puck retorted over his shoulder. He turned back to Finn, Rachel, and their baby, a pleasant smile now on his face. "You guys ready?"

Rachel laughed and adjusted the baby in her arms so that everyone could easily see him. "You better let them in." The sooner they did this, the sooner the new little family could get some real rest, after all.

Everyone piled into the room: Carole, Burt, Leroy, Hiram, Blaine, Kurt, Puck, Quinn, and Santana. Rachel and Finn stared wide-eyed at their family, and then exchanged a glance but decided that it was better not to say anything. They were positive that they weren't allowed to have this many people in their room, but Finn and Rachel weren't about to deny their family anything on such a happy day.

"Meet Jonathan Kurt Hudson," Finn announced once everyone had squeezed into the hospital room. "But you can call him Jack."

Kurt was the one who broke the silence at Finn's announcement. "Jonathan Kurt?" he repeated. Tears were shining in his eyes. "You named your son after me?"

Finn hooked an arm around his younger brother's neck and yanked him towards him in a hug. On the day of his son's birth and seeing his brother's gratitude, Finn was overcome with emotion himself and wasn't able to properly formulate a response. Rachel answered for both of them.

"Of course we did," she said. "You've already shown us just how much you love him with everything you've done for him since we told you guys that we were going to have a baby. Who else would we name him after?"

Once Finn released his younger brother, Kurt leaned over and kissed Rachel's cheek before he stroked his hand over the baby's head. On the other side of the bed, Quinn was standing with Puck, gripping his hand tightly as tears streamed down her face.

"Puck, I want one!" Quinn declared.

Kurt beamed and immediately stood upright. "I already have several themes planned for the two of you, you have no idea," he began. He crossed the room to Quinn and Puck, already talking one hundred miles a minute. The couple had matching looks of shock on their faces, and it made both Finn and Rachel smile.

"It's their turn, now," Finn murmured to Rachel as a nurse came into the room and started yelling at all of them for having so many people at one time.

Rachel laughed and leaned against Finn as she held little Jack close. "Welcome to the crazy, buddy."

* * *

 **fifteen.**

It had been exactly three months since Jack was born, and the Hudsons had settled quite nicely into their new life.

Jack had seemed to inherit Finn's easygoing personality, which Rachel was thankful for. Even when he was a newborn, he hadn't seemed to fuss much, and instead was content to watch everything that was going on around him. Now he was smiling at them and making little baby noises that both Finn and Rachel liked to pretend were actual words. Perhaps Rachel's favorite, though, was the full-bellied laugh that he had started doing. Finn and Rachel didn't think it was possible to love someone so much.

They were going over to the Hudson-Hummel house. After three months of Carole, Hiram and Leroy bringing food over for them, both Finn and Rachel had decided that they were ready to get out of their apartment and return to their usual schedule of family dinners.

Once they came in through Carole and Burt's front door, everyone immediately began to fawn over Jack. The baby carrier was immediately taken from Finn, and Burt had Jack in his arms before Finn and Rachel were even fully in the house. Hiram and Leroy had started attending the Hudson-Hummel dinners as well, and had surrounded Burt as all three men cooed over the baby.

Finn shared a look with his wife as they took off their coats. "Sheesh. Once you have a baby, it's like we don't even exist anymore."

Rachel smiled and reached up to kiss Finn. "Don't worry, honey. I won't forget that you exist." She absolutely loved that everyone adored her son so much, and she had no problem letting everyone fawn over him.

Finn grinned at her and opened his mouth to respond, but he caught sight of Kurt bustling over to them with a massive blue binder in his hands. Finn was seriously considering dragging Rachel out of the room, because he was positive that whatever was in that binder was going to piss her off, but Rachel saw Kurt before Finn could even move.

"Kurt Hummel-Anderson, what the hell is that?" Rachel demanded.

Kurt cast Rachel a slightly judgmental look. "Language, Rachel! After all, you have a young son."

Rachel gritted her teeth together and looked around for Blaine. He had to be able to rein his husband in, after all. "Kurt."

"Relax, Rachel. This is just the plan for Jack's first birthday party."

"Sergeant McFancy Pants!" Rachel's voice grew shrill. "That's nine months away!"

"I know! We have so much planning to do!" Kurt's face turned purple, as it always did whenever his nickname was mentioned. Instead of responding, he flipped open to the first page of the binder, which displayed the list of themes he was considering. "I started planning three days after Jack was born!"

Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but Finn wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and began to steer her towards in the kitchen, in search for some wine. Kurt followed them, still talking about the plans for the party, and Rachel snapped her retort over her shoulder.

Finn grinned. It was nice to know that some things would never change.

* * *

 **I know, I know. I have other stories to be working on, and I know I promise every time that I'm going to update them. Inspiration has been a little lacking, however, so when I found some to write this, I grabbed on to it and didn't stop. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**


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